◆ Five consecutive matches without runs

Lotte's Keisuke Sawada pitched in an exhibition game against Rakuten Eagles on the 4th.

Sawada went up mound in the 5th inning, 1-0, and he bounced his fourth pitch, 126 km fork, pitched from 1 ball 2 strike to McCusker in the top of the inning, to the right. He was sent to Hiroto Kobukata the next inning, but he got the substitute, Yuya Ogo, to fly out to left and the substitute, Daichi Suzuki, to miss struck out with an inning-ending 144 km fastball from 1 ball 2 strike to put a 0 on the scoreboard and return to the bench.

Sawada has pitched five innings in five inning since the practice game against DeNA on February 14th, allowing only two hit, strike out four, BB, and allowing no runs, demonstrating stable pitch.

◆ Fast and falling fork

Speaking of Sawada, he said, "I think it's an issue for this fall, and also for next year and beyond, so I want to make it fast and drop. I'm going to work hard to achieve that." He has been working on developing a "fast and dropping fork" since last fall, and in an interview on January 26th, he said, "I've pretty much got the image in my head, and the games are starting from here, so I want to try it out quickly and see how it goes. I think the batter's reaction is everything, so I want to keep a variety of things in mind as I go along."

During practice games, the pitch speed may not be displayed on the video because the game is played at a local stadium. He said he wanted to throw fork at around 140 km/h, but I wonder if he is actually throwing it at a speed around that range.

"I don't think it's coming out yet. fastball are a little slow right now, so that's why they're slow," he said quietly.

Still, in the practice game against Hiroshima on February 18th, he threw 11 pitches in the first inning, 10 of which were fastball. In Konosuke Tatsumi, he closer to runs the first inning with a swing struck out from the first ball 2 strike to the fourth pitch fastball.

When asked if he has been able to throw the ball the way he envisions, he simply said, "It's the bare minimum." But even though he says it's the "bare minimum," the results are coming.

He has been practicing slider since the fall of 2012, and last season it became one of the pitches that anchored pitch. "I threw it to the leadoff right-handed hitter in the game against the Czech Republic, and I think it was okay," he said, describing it as neither good nor bad.

With less than a month until the opening game, he is expected to produce results as well as pitch performance. "I'm not at the level where I can impress others yet. For now, I feel like I need to get closer to my best condition." The Marines, who finished last last season, have struggled with their "winning formula," and if Sawada can produce results in the exhibition games this season, he could well be part of the "win formula" at the start of the season. He wants to improve his condition and aim to pitch to his satisfaction.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita